Annulment is different from divorce in that under an annulment the law treats the parties as if they never were married to each other at all.

       Unlike divorce and marriage in Tennessee, which are controlled by statute, annulment is generally controlled by the common-law, in other words by the law created by the courts without any real guidance or control from the legislature.

       The one exception is legislation allowing a court to annul a marriage if one or both of the parties was not old enough to consent to the marriage at the time.

       Because court's consider an annulment proper only when there was some sort of defect in the marriage, or in the ability of one or both of the parties to enter into the marriage, the following additional grounds for annulment have developed in Tennessee over the years;

1) Bigamy.  If one of the parties was already legally married at the time, the later marriage can be annulled;
2) Violation of the mandatory provisions of the Tennessee Marriage Act which leave the marriage invalid;
3) Marriage not consummated — if the parties never have had sexual relations and one party refuses to have sexual relations with the other, the party denied sexual relations can have the marriage annulled;
4) Mental incapacity — if one of the parties lacked mental capacity to consent to the marriage  (even if only temporarily through intoxication) , and that party does not ratify the marriage
sometime later during a lucid moment, the marriage is voidable and can be annulled;
5) Impotency which existed before the marriage and which is both permanent or can not be corrected through surgery or other means and if it can be corrected then the man refuses to correct it;
6) Duress — one of the parties was forced into the marriage;
7) Fraud — clearly if you found out only after the marriage that you married a cross-dresser and that you were not married to someone of the opposite sex, you can get it annulled, or if you thought it was one identical twin at the alter with you and it turned out to be the other (I have also persuaded a judge to annul a marriage when the fraud came in the form of the husband having told the wife that he's had a vasectomy when in fact he had not).

        Generally speaking if the party trying to have the marriage annulled ratifies it afterwards (in other words say's "Okay, I still want this marriage") courts will not annul a marriage.  Many people believe that no court will annul a marriage after the parties have had sexual relations, but this is not true, although it is certainly a factor the courts look at.

         Also, unlike divorce which requires one of the parties to have been a Tennessee resident for at least six months immediately before filing for the divorce, annulment has no residency requirement.

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